Fate is pulling you miles away from me
by khughes830
Summary: Lucy is stuck in her life, unable to move past the memory of a man who is no longer around. She had settled for her life the way it was. And then, one night, a ship shows up and Paulina emerges, saying she's there to help. Inspired by a few things, including the amazing Garcy video set to Rewrite the Stars.
1. Chapter 1

"FLYNN!" Lucy yelled up the steps, leaning against the bannister. "Flynn. Come on. You have got to get a move on!"

"I told you you should have let me adjust the clock" Amy sighed from the couch, her bag next to her as she stared at her phone.

"FLYNN!"

"I'm coming Mom! Just hold on. He's not even here yet!" Lucy rolled her eyes as her daughter yelled from upstairs. She stuck her face out of her room, glaring at her down the steps.

"I don't even want to go, Mom!"

"Flynn, we have talked about this. It's your dad's week and he's got this trip planned so you need…" Her daughter sighed and slammed her bedroom door.

"I'm going to take that damn thing off it's hinges, I swear" Lucy said under her breath, moving into the kitchen.

This whole divorced parenting thing was hard, but add preteen, hormonal girls to the mix and some days Lucy thought she should take up heavy drinking. She loved her girls more than life itself, but she was kind of looking forward to the break. No classes to teach, no 12 year old girls yelling at each other across the small townhouse. Just a week of peace and quiet. Just what she needed to finish grading these finals and catching up on her Netflix queue.

She rested her head in her hands. They had been separated for almost two years, divorced for almost one. The fraction had started after that last trip in the Lifeboat. She got back and grieved like she should have all those years prior, but never did because there was too much to focus on – stopping Rittenhouse and then the burgeoning relationship with Wyatt then the actual wedding then her immediately getting pregnant with the girls. There was no time till that last trip to Sao Paulo. She spent two days in bed, remembering the feel of her lips on his face. That handsome, sad, angry face. Wyatt tried. He tried so hard at the beginning. He did anything and everything to bring her out of it. But in the end, he realized that it was a losing battle. There was no anger. No animosity. They cared about each other very much and a part of her would always love him. But she couldn't get past the part of her, the larger part it seemed, that loved a man that would always be a memory. Wyatt was her best friend, her partner, the father of her girls. He lived just two streets over, making it easy to parent the girls and to be there when they needed each other. She was genuinely happy for him when he met Madelyn almost 10 months ago. She was sweet and kind to the girls. Amy was glad that her dad found someone. Flynn, on the other hand…

"Why are you making me go with her?"

Lucy pulled her head up. "Flynn, stop. Mady is lovely. You should really give her a chance." If Lucy didn't know better, she would swear this child had inherited some biological traits of her namesake. The look of utter disdain followed by a sigh and a dramatic turn on her heel – she would have sworn that he had somehow blessed her with some of his flair for the dramatic.

"Dad's here" Amy yelled from the living room.

"Please tell me he's alone." Flynn replied, putting her duffle on her shoulder.

"Shut up, Flynn."

"She's buying your love, Amy. Don't be a fool."

"I'm sorry some of us enjoy the girly things in life and like going shopping for clothes and make-up."

Lucy opened the door. "They are all yours" she said, smiling at Wyatt. He laughed and walked in. Regardless of the bickering, they both loved their father to the moon and back. Both girls gave him a hug. "You two have everything?"

"You know I do" Amy said, leaning her head toward her sister.

"Shut up Amy!"

"Do you have your phone charger because you aren't using mine if you don't." They all watched Flynn quickly check her bag then run back upstairs. Amy shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"Please be nice"Lucy said, giving her daughter a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"I will do my best but sometimes Flynn makes it too easy" she said, waving goodbye and heading out to the car. Flynn ran back down, shoving her charger in her bag, trying to run out the door. Lucy grabbed her other daughter, pulling her in for a hug. "Flynn, behave."

Flynn sighed, wrapping one arm around her mom. "I wish you were coming with us" she said.

"There's plenty of room, if you want to join us, Lucy" Wyatt said from behind them. Lucy gave her daughter a kiss and shook her head. "No. Really. A nice, quiet break is exactly what I need."

"But you will be alone for Christmas!" Flynn said.

"No. I told you. I'm going to go have dinner with Jiya, Rufus and the kids. I'm going to finish up these papers and get some much needed sleep and maybe clean that pit you call a room."

"That sounds like the lamest Christmas ever" Flynn replied.

"Being able to watch whatever I want on the TV down here? That sounds like heaven." Flynn rolled her eyes, heading out toward the car, immediately yelling at her sister about being in the front seat.

Wyatt looked at her. "Lucy, really. You know Mady won't mind. Her family is great."

Lucy nodded. "I know. She called me yesterday and texted me about it all week. Wyatt, I swear, I'm good. Make them get off their phones. Make them go ski or hike or something, ok?"

"I will. Only if you make me a promise."

She leaned against the door. "What's that?"

"Please don't wallow the whole break. Go get a massage or a pedicure or something. Don't sit and this house and brood the whole break. Please. Flynn is really worried about you being alone over Christmas."

The tears stung her eyes. This time of year was the worst. If she closed her eyes, she could picture every detail of that last time, that moment in that bar in São Paulo. "I will do my best" she choked out.

Wyatt sighed, giving her a hug and a kiss on her temple. "If you change your mind at any point, there's an extra bedroom in our cabin and you can be there in less than 4 hours. I don't care. You call me and we will get there, even if it's Christmas Eve."

She pushed him out the door. "I know, I know. You better go before there is bloodshed in your car" she said, motioning toward the arguing girls in the black Jeep. He waved and ran to the car. Lucy heard a few choice words from Flynn as he got in the car. Yet another thing she would swear came from him – that temper and ability to verbally berate someone till they cried or left. She shut the front door, taking a moment to relish in the silence, knowing she only had a second before the demons started creeping in.

* * *

The perks of a remodeled attic that was now her home office, the girls hated it up here. So she never worried about them coming up here and messing with her work. The drawbacks – no matter the time of year, it was hot. She did most of her work with the windows open and in shorts and a tank top. Tonight was no different. Even on December 21st, she sat here with all the windows open, a cold wind pushing through as she graded her papers and ate her veggie pizza, loving that she didn't have to listen to anyone complain about all the vegetables. Tomorrow, she planned to cook fish without having to hear about how gross the house smelled.

She also loved how quiet the neighborhood got at night this time of year. During the summer, it was a hub of family and activity and grill outs. But this time of year, it was all inside celebrations, which made her having her windows open peaceful. It also helped the house backed up to a large line of trees. When her and Wyatt had split, their main concern was keeping the girls at their schools at all times, regardless of who had them and being able to live near each other. This neighborhood, with a large array of activity and privacy, it was the best of both worlds.

She sighed, leaning back in her chair, rubbing her neck. The papers were starting to blur together as she was reading them. She needed a break. She argued with herself in her head. She had promised Wyatt she wouldn't brood during the break. But sometimes, when the voice at the back of her head was telling her she was forgetting him – she dug into the bottom drawer of her desk, pulling out a lone picture.

Once. Denise had taken a group shot of them once. Wyatt procured it for her, thinking it would help seeing his face, to help her move on. It did help. It made her realize that the loss she felt when she saw him was insurmountable, it seemed. She had told him she had gotten rid of the picture. And she tried to. She really did. But she couldn't. She stared at his face, standing behind her. Lucy couldn't remember the why of the picture anymore. She knew it had taken some begging and pleading from them to Denise to even take it. And her wide smile was because of a joke he had made. She couldn't remember the details anymore, but she knew that smile was because of him.

She felt the tears coming as she ran her fingers over his face in the picture. She tried not to do this often. Doing this made it hard to move forward, but being alone for the next few stretch of days, she thought it might be ok.

Her eyes shot up when she heard a sound from outside. A sound she couldn't place but was familiar down in her core. It took her a moment to place it, that familiar whoosh for lack of a better term. But it did click in her brain after a moment.

"No way" she whispered to herself, running down the steps from her office, quickly grabbing shoes and a jacket before running out the back door. She paused in the yard, looking around, thinking maybe for a moment she made it up, was hearing it in her head. But then she noticed some strange lights coming from the trees behind the house. So, she ran. Hard.

Her chest hurt when she hit a clearing she never knew was there before tonight. And what she saw took her breath away.

A mothership. Or a Lifeboat. Or whatever it was being called. It was there, in front of her. It wasn't the actual Mothership – she had seen that being taken apart. It wasn't their Lifeboat – it looked just different enough for her know it wasn't theirs.

The door opened and she couldn't breath. Couldn't move. Couldn't even think. One person emerged. A young woman. Late teens or early 20s. Dark hair. She looked around and her eyes landed on Lucy and she smiled.

"Oh, thank God! I was worried – this is the first time I've attempted something like this. All my other trips have been successful, but coming to someplace well-developed, where people lived… but here you are" she said as jumped out of the ship, walking toward her.

Lucy knew the look on her face must be priceless, but she couldn't help it.

"Lucy Preston. I'm a big fan" she said, holding her hand out for Lucy to shake. Lucy did it, still not being able to really understand what was happening.

"Lucy?"

Lucy shook her head. "What… I just… what… how… WHAT?" The younger woman laughed. "Cool. I thought this might be your reaction."

"Ok. Ok. Ok." Lucy started pacing in front of this woman, trying to make sense of what was happening. "Ok. Ok. I just… ok. Ok. Let's start with who are you?"

"Paulina."

Lucy pointed behind her, as the ship. "And that's…"

Paulina looked over her shoulder. "That's mine."

"And it…"

"Works? Yeah. It works. Perfectly."

"Why are you here? Why did you come here?" Paulina turned back to Lucy, cocking her head to the side. "Lucy, I'm here to help. To fix this. I'm here to help you get Flynn back."


	2. Chapter 2

Awe.

That's the only way Lucy could describe the way she was feeling. Awe. Get Flynn back. She had lost that idea, that dream, when she walked out of São Paulo and back into the bunker, to Denise and the girls asleep in the room she used to share with Wyatt. She couldn't sleep that night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw that look on his face when she said his name. Those eyes, that sadness, and below it all, his humanity. A part of her felt guilty – she didn't realize till that moment, she was the reason he wanted to burn the world to the ground. She knew she changed the narrative, but it was still the same – he was gone and she was here. She dreamed, for awhile, about getting him back. The Lifeboat was still there, with auto pilot. She could do it. Her and Wyatt rarely fought, but about that, they fought for weeks. That was the first time he threatened to leave her, and take the girls. If she did this thing, they would definitely be gone when she got back.

She just stared at the back of Paulina's head as they walked back to the house. Get Flynn back. There was no way.

They emerged from the tree line and she realized that Paulina never once asked for directions back to the house. She didn't even hesitate. She just walked up to the back door Lucy had left wide open, holding it open for her. Lucy trudged through, straight to the couch. She watched Paulina walk slowly around her small living room, eyes wide, like she just stumbled on to missing historical artifacts.

"It's so weird to see you in a wedding picture with Wyatt Logan" she said, holding up one of the few pictures that were still out from that day. She mostly left it out for Flynn. Flynn enjoyed looking at the photos from that day.

"I don't understand" Lucy whispered. Paulina started to open her mouth when the watch on her wrist beeped loudly. She dropped the bag she was carrying on the chair, digging into it, pulling out a medicine bottle. She dumped 3 rather large, dark black pills into her hand. "Can I get some water?" She asked. Suddenly, Lucy felt like a terrible host. She jumped off the couch, grabbing a glass and filling it with water, hurrying back.

"I'm so sorry! I should have…" Lucy trailed off and she started to laugh, hysterically. She fell back on the couch, the laughter taking over. The ridiculousness of this entire situation. Finally, her laughter trailed off.

"Better?" Paulina asked, throwing the pills in her mouth, chasing them with the water. She sat down in the chair and Lucy nodded, running her hands through her hair.

"What were those?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not 100% sure what's all in them, but they help with the side effects. Mason has some crack scientists that found a break through on that aspect."

"Mason?" Lucy asked.

Paulina nodded. "Yeah, don't let him fool you. He's not given up the dream quite like you all think he has." Lucy rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Ok. I'll have to unpack that later. I want to get back to the pills. So, those…"

"They keep the headaches and all the rest of the stuff at bay when you travel to your own timeline. Plus they help with the motion sickness in general. As long as I take them about every 4 hours while I'm out, I'm good."

"Wait" Lucy said, holding up a hand. "Traveling into your own timeline. So you are…"

"Yeah, I'm around in this time line. And not. I've been doing this for awhile."

"How old are you?"

"I think I'm 26 or so. I've kind of lost track."

"Lost track of how old you are?" Paulina just nodded. "Look, Lucy. While I'm able to hold the side effects off with the pills, it's not fool proof."

"Got it. So… you said… that you were here to help me get…" She trailed off. His name always got stuck in her throat.

"Flynn. Lucy, I need you to say it. Flynn."

"Flynn" she pushed out. She wasn't sure she had actually said his name in years. Sure. She yelled it a lot at her daughter, but she was able to compartmentalize the insanity of that.

Paulina smiled. "Feels different than when you yell it at your kid huh?"

Lucy's eyes went wide. "You know about my kids?"

"Lucy I know everything about you. I'm kind of your biggest fan. And you have quite a few of them."

"What in the hell are you talking about?"

Paulina reached back into her bag, pulling out a large, well used book, dropping it on the table. Lucy thought maybe she needed one of Paulina's magic black pills, because looking at the front of the book made Lucy's head swim.

A book. With her name at the bottom as the author. _Timeless_. Lucy picked it up gently, like it would disintegrate in her hands.

"This is mine?" She asked quietly, looking at Paulina.

"It is. Lucy, that book… it changed an entire generation, including me. The idea of time travel, the thought of going back and experiencing history, saving the world in the process. Fighting those who want to take down what makes this country and us great. It's taught in schools and college classes take entire semesters to discuss small parts of this book. It's part of what inspired me to create that machine out there. But one day, it started disappearing. I've got one of the last copies left. It started slowly. Like I was talking to a friend of mine who was just as obsessed with it as I am. I mentioned a pretty popular quote in passing, one that she should have gotten right away. She asked me what in the world I was talking about. That's how it started. This book started disappearing and I knew I couldn't let that happen. So, I'm here."

Lucy just stared at her. "I don't understand…"

"I know. I know you don't. Because your circumstances… as it stand, right now, you aren't going to write this book. That can't happen. You have to write this book."

"What's different?"

"Flynn. That's what is different. Lucy, he was never supposed to sacrifice himself. He was never supposed to die, especially not alone on a beach as a John Doe. Yeah. You still ended up with Wyatt, for awhile. You still have the girls. But it ended, when the girls were much younger than they were when it ended here. You are supposed to be here this week, that's right. The girls always leave with Wyatt this week. But Flynn is here with you. He's the one, over wine and candlelight, that talks you into writing this book." Lucy didn't believe it. None of it. Paulina could tell.

"Open the book to the first page, Lucy."

She slowly opened the book in her hand. To the dedication page. And there, after thanking everyone who helped her get this done, including her girls and Wyatt, at the bottom…

 _And to my love, Garcia… thanks for the initial push. You are the reason this ever started. All my love._

"What the hell" she said quietly.

"Maybe I'm closer to 30" Paulina said, staring at the ceiling. "What year is it?"

Lucy's eyes went wide. "It's…"

Paulina shrugged. "Never mind. Doesn't matter. Who knows? It gets hard to keep track. Anyway, so this book. Lucy, you have to write it. It becomes one of those books – like The Great Gatsby or Catcher in the Rye or To Kill a Mockingbird."

"So this is fiction?"

"Of course. Like time travel is real" Paulina replied, with an exaggerated wink. Lucy started to laugh. "You are a strange bird, Paulina."

"You aren't the first person to tell me that. Garcia Flynn is the catalyst. In all your interviews and book tours, you say flat out that he was the one that pushed you to start writing this. Let me ask you – feel like writing a huge novel with history and war and love?"

"I feel like drinking all the wine in my kitchen and turning on Netflix."

"See. Not great writing conditions. So we have to go get him. So you write the book." Paulina yawned as she finished that sentence. "We should probably get some sleep first. And you need to take some of these" she finished, throwing the bottle of pills at Lucy.

"Are they safe?"

"Enough." She replied, holding out the half empty glass of water to Lucy. Lucy shook out two pills and swallowed them. "Remind me when this is over to call Connor. I think me and him and Rufus need to have a long talk."

"I would highly recommend that. Where can I sleep? When my watch goes off for the next dosage, we are leaving. 4 hours isn't a lot, but I recommend you get what you can."

Lucy directed her to her bedroom, claiming she could sleep in Amy's room. The truth was, Lucy didn't sleep much, and when she did, it was usually on the couch in the living or the futon in her office. Being alone in her bedroom gave her too much time to think. To remember. Paulina was out as soon as her head hit the pillow and Lucy turned off all the lights, pulling the throw blanket over her, falling asleep to the thought of seeing Flynn again made her fall right to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

She stood there, in the middle of the night, staring at this thing she thought she would never see again. She knew the one they had used all those years ago was still in existence, but she is currently unsure if it would even work at this point in her life.

"You coming?" She heard Paulina say from inside the ship. Lucy sighed and rolled her shoulders, climbing the ladder slowly. She really didn't even let herself look around until she was in a seat and the door was closing.

"Wow" she whispered. It may look the same from the outside, but the inside was more advanced. More complex. Her first thought was that Jiya and Rufus HAD to see this. And then that when all this was over, they would probably kill her. Oh God…

"I should have told someone… what if… Amy and Flynn and Wyatt… what am I thinking?"

Paulina rested her hand on Lucy's arm. "Hey. I've been doing this awhile. You are coming back. To right now. I mean, maybe not right at this moment, but it will be like you were in the shower if someone calls or knocks on your door. Plus, you get many 1 am visitors and calls?"

Lucy closed her eyes and shook her head no. "Ok. Plus, where we are going… it's just going to be us. I've been practicing. This is important, Lucy. You and Flynn… you're important. This isn't something that can be screwed up."

Lucy opened her eyes and watched as Paulina inputted data into her console and strapped herself in.

"Here we go" she said, and Lucy felt her whole world shift suddenly.

And just as suddenly as they started, they stopped. Lucy remembered always feeling a little off and queasy after a jump.

"You weren't kidding about those pills". Paulina smiled and nodded.

Lucy unbuckled the belt and ran her fingers through her hair, tying it back with a hair tie she had on her wrist.

"OK. Where are we?"

Paulina let out a deep breath. "San Diego. 2012." Lucy's eyes went wide and Paulina nodded. "He's been here 36 hours and tomorrow… tomorrow is d-day, so to speak. He gets too close to himself and Iris when they are out at a farmer's market in the morning. It makes the rest of his brain go haywire and tomorrow night is the night he collapses on the beach, in the dunes. I mean, he's feeling the effects now, but he's still got some semblance of rational thought left right. Now is the time. It has to be tonight." Paulina looked at her watch. "We are at the beach. He's set up a tent in the dunes where he gets found in a couple of days. Honestly, after getting that close to himself, I'm not even sure how he managed to get back here, but he does. He's out there, right now. This whole area is kind of a homeless area, where they sleep at night and what-not. That's who finds him. Someone comes to ransack his stuff and they find is body. Lucy, you have to go get him. Now."

Lucy nodded and Paulina opened the door. She took a deep breath, taking in the ocean air. She came here, once. She was in San Diego for a conference and she ducked out early of the keynote. She stood here, she realized as she jump out of the ship. She stood in this spot, trying to feel him in this place. She wasn't even sure, till this moment, that she was even in the right place. The details in the file Denise had given her all those years ago were vague.

"Lucy, you have to go! There's a small window where they serve dinner at a place a few blocks up for the people who live down here. They will all be back in about 40 minutes. We have to be gone before then. We are wide open – I didn't have a choice. This is as close as I could get, but there's no cover. You have 30 minutes to get out there, get him and get back."

Lucy looked forward, toward the dunes, and started to run. It had been a long time since she had run full out. As she aged, she leaned more toward weights and yoga. She had tried to keep it up, but she was never very good at it to begin with. But here, knowing Garcia Flynn was out there, that she could save him like she should have when she was younger, made her legs move faster than she thought they could.

Soon, she pulled up in front of a tent. The front flap was open, and there he sat, staring at the side of his tent at nothing. It broke her heart for a moment, to see him struggling with his mind. She was having a lot of feelings in this moment, but she had to push them down as she glanced at her watch. She had 20 minutes to some how pull him out of here and get him back to the ship, to Paulina, to a time where… well, she had no idea. Couldn't even think about that now.

"Flynn." She said quietly, kneeling down in front of his tent, looking at him.

He looked over at her and smiled. "Oh. Good. You're here. I was worried… you hadn't been here in a few days, Lucy. I was starting to get worried. Did you get turned around again?"

She just nodded. She figured she had no choice but to roll with whatever he was going to say. "I did. I'm glad you are still here. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find you."

"It was Houdini again wasn't it? He was sweet on you." She laughed. "Was he?" Flynn just nodded. "Why wouldn't he be?" He reached out his hand. "Come lay with me."

She glanced over her shoulder and then turned back to him. "Will you come walk with me instead?" She replied, holding out her hand to him. He nodded, pushing himself up, grabbing her hand. She thanked God that he was letting her lead. If she had to drag someone who had a foot on her against his will, she would never get back in time. Plus, Paulina was right – the pills weren't fool proof. She was starting to feel a little off herself.

He was rambling, not really making any sense, but she nodded and hummed in agreement to keep him moving. Soon, they were in front of the ship.

"What's that doing here?" He asked. She looked at him and saw her Flynn staring back at her.

"Hi" Paulina said, popping her head out the door. "All done?" Lucy quickly nodded, turning back to Flynn. He was really looking at her.

"You seem different, Lucy?"

"Do I?"

"Who's that?" He asked, pointing up at Paulina.

"A new recruit. Rufus is training her."

"You aren't supposed to be here" he replied.

"Neither are you. You were never supposed to…" she trailed off, knowing they didn't have time. Not for this. Not now. "Please. Flynn. I need you to follow me into there."

"Of course" he replied, that look of confusion and trust returning to his face. She sighed, doing her best not to pull him in behind her. She got him settled, buckled and secure. She did the same to herself and smiled at him.

"Boy, this sure is something" he said, before closing his eyes, his head falling forward on his chest.

"He's asleep" Paulina said, firing up the machine. "And we need to go. You are feeling the effects of being here. I can tell. I need to get you both out of here now." And with that, they were gone.

* * *

Paulina wiped her face as Lucy sagged against the wall, both of them staring at the man asleep on her bed, none the wiser. Flynn never woke up when they got back. It took some doing, but between the two of them and her long abandoned wheelbarrow, they got him to her room.

"I can't believe we did it" Paulina whispered. "I mean, I thought it could be done. I knew that it should be done. But to actually pull it off… wait till…" Lucy stared at her as she trailed off, glancing around the room with a look of confusion on her face, for just a moment.

Lucy moved over to her, resting her hand on her shoulder. "Paulina" she said quietly. Paulina shook her head quickly, like she was dislodging something.

"I need to go. This needs to be my last jump for awhile, Lucy."

Lucy's eyes went wide. "Wait. You're leaving?"

"I have to!"

"But… Flynn… what do I do when he wakes up?"

"What you always do, Lucy. What you always do for him. You be there. You help him understand. It's going to take some time for the fog to clear. There's no version of him here, so that will help. But soon, you will have to tell him… everything. You know that, right? You can't keep it from him."

"But… what if I…"

"Lucy, you are older than the Lucy that he thinks he just left a day and a half ago. I mean, you look good, but you aren't as young as you used to be."

"Thanks for that kick in the ass, Paulina."

"That's not what I meant. See. I really need to go. Lucy, you got this. He's here. That was the hardest part."

"For you. There's a chance Wyatt will have me committed for this."

"He won't." Lucy followed Paulina out of her room and could only watch as she gathered her things, including the book.

"Any chance I can keep that?" Lucy asked.

Paulina shook her head, stuffing it into her bag. "No way. That would be cheating." Lucy just smiled. "Thanks Paulina."

Lucy walked her to the back door and watched her until she disappeared in the trees. She continued to stand there until she heard the distinct whoosh and felt the silence that followed. She locked the back door and turned off all the lights, glancing at the clock. Her body felt like it had been hours, but start to finish, the clock had only moved 25 minutes. She stood in the doorway of her room, staring at Garcia Flynn, asleep in her bed. In her home. Years and years after he had died.

"Oh shit" she whispered to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy peeled open her eyes, rolling her neck around slowly as she sat up in the overstuffed chair that sat in the corner of her room. Sleep in a chair wasn't ideal, she thought, laughing to herself as she stared at the man asleep in her bed, thinking of that night and morning all those years ago where he must have slept in a much less comfortable chair, watching over her as she slept.

He was still there, sleeping hard. She can only imagine the damage his body was trying to repair and she wondered just how long he would sleep. She tip-toed into the bathroom, using it quickly to try to keep from waking him up. She exited the bathroom, standing there, staring at him. It was still hard to believe that Paulina's plan had worked. That she had been able to rescue him all on her own. She never thought anything like that was possible. The thought that she could have tried years ago brought tears to her eyes and pulled her stomach into a knot. She reached out her hand, to touch him, to see about waking him up to see if he needed medicine or food or a shower or all three when…

"LUCY!" She heard from the front of the house. She froze. Shit.

Lucy moved quickly out of her bedroom, pulling the door shut, hoping that she could get rid of her before Flynn woke up. Shit.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as Jiya set the box and two coffee cups on the table. Jiya shot her a look.

"Uh… coffee and crullers, remember? You hide the kids' gifts here and I promised you coffee and crullers in return?"

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry."

Jiya put her hands on her hips, looking Lucy over. Shit. That word would just not get out of her brain. Jiya had on her investigative face. She was toast.

"What's going on with you?" she asked, waving her hand in Lucy's general direction.

"Sorry. I was just up… late… grading papers."

Jiya opened her mouth to reply when they both heard a low groan from her bedroom. Lucy's eyes went wide as Jiya's gaze went past her to the closed bedroom door. The door that was only closed when Lucy was in there asleep. Lucy was nothing if not a creature of habit, so everyone knew Lucy preferred open doors unless she was sleeping. Which she wasn't, since she was standing here with Jiya.

"Oh my GOD! Lucy? Is there a guy here?"

Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat, unable to get words out as she nodded her head slightly.

Jiya laughed, taking a sip of her coffee. "Nice use of grading papers by the way. Is he still asleep?" Lucy could only continue to nod. Jiya put her coffee down, looking at it for a moment before shrugging and quickly moving past her down the short hall. "Let me get a look and I'll get out of here, promise."

Lucy couldn't move for a moment and by the time she could, Jiya was already opening her bedroom door. She could only watch as Jiya stuck her head in and seemed to quit moving. Lucy chewed on her lip as Jiya slowly pulled her head out of the room and shut the door as quietly as possible. She didn't turn back to Lucy.

"Lucy" she said quietly.

"Yeah Jiya."

"Is there any chance you went out and found yourself a guy that looks exactly like Garcia Flynn last night?"

"There's a chance I went out and got myself Garcia Flynn last night, Jiya."

Jiya whipped around. "You did what?" She whispered shouted at Lucy. Lucy pointed over her shoulder. Jiya followed her as Lucy grabbed the coffee and box of crullers off the living room table and moved into the kitchen, setting them down. Jiya dropped into a chair, staring hard at her friend.

"Talk. Now." Jiya demanded.

Lucy nodded, settling into the chair next to her oldest friend in the world. "Ok. It started last night when I heard that familiar whoosh sound coming from the woods out back. I went to look. There was a ship and a young lady named Paulina." Over the course of the next 45 minutes, Lucy told Jiya every detail of what happened, of how she went to save Flynn from the beaches of San Diego in 2012 and how she didn't even think twice about it.

"What the actual fuck?" Jiya said, leaning back in the chair when Lucy finally stopped talking. Lucy just nodded. "I know" she replied.

"So now what?" Jiya asked. Lucy shook her head. "Haven't actually gotten that far."

"No kidding. Cause when he wakes up, he's here now. For good. And you aren't the you that he remembers from… well for him it's like 3 days ago. He's going to wake up and find you older than him…"

"The same age" Lucy shot back.

"Whatever. But he's going to find you… in a life that has been going on for the last decade or so while he was dead. He's got no one and nothing. Except you. And if you aren't…"

"I am, Jiya."

"How can you be sure? Lucy, you've been living off memories and fantasies since you three got back from São Paulo. Maybe earlier than that. You were never fully in with Wyatt because of the memory of Flynn. For him, you are someone he's going to be shocked to see but someone that he has tangible moments with. For you, he's a memory. I mean, you do remember all the crap he pulled when he first got into this right?"

Lucy just nodded.

"Lucy, you can't unring this bell. He can't go back. If you aren't… if you decide tomorrow that the feelings you have for him off the memories aren't the same now that he's here…"

"I know" Lucy whispered, staring at her hands, eyes filling with tears. She looked up at her friend. "It was like autopilot last night. My brain didn't even question it. I got told I could get him… that I HAD to go get him… and it just made sense. So I did."

"You have to tell Wyatt. You can't let him bring those girls back next week without telling him first. And what if… Lucy, what if he's not the same Flynn. Who knows what being that close to himself for 3 days did to his brain. What if…"

Lucy squared her shoulders, wiping her face. "I'll handle it. I can handle whatever it is. Because at the end of the day, it's Flynn. He sacrificed himself for us. To save us. To save me. To give me a life. I owe him the life he should have had. Maybe I owe us the life WE should have had."

Jiya opened her mouth when they heard the door creak open down the hallway. They shot out of their seats and found him coming out of Lucy's bedroom.

He was leaning against the door jam, hand covering his face.

"It's bright" he said quietly. They quickly moved to either side of him, not really knowing what to do next. They just stared at him as he leaned his head against the door, cracking his eyes open.

"How long was I gone? You all moved?" Lucy thought she swallowed her tongue and she just stared at Jiya.

Jiya rested her hand on his shoulder. "Did we forget to tell you that Mason found us a new safe house? Something about sunlight will make us all better humored or something."

"I like it. But that room is a little flowery for my taste." Jiya stifled a laugh and Lucy glared at her. "We haven't had a chance to redecorate yet. You know that."

Flynn nodded. "Yeah. I guess I do, huh? Even though…" he paused, looking around. Finally his eyes landed on Lucy. "Hi" he said quietly, eyes going soft. It had been so long since she had been on the receiving end of that look, she was convinced she had imagined all of that. She leaned into him, feeling something she hadn't felt in a long time – hope.

"Hi" she replied.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You look different."

She nodded. "You have had a rough couple of days. You need a shower and some more sleep. Probably some food after that."

He nodded, not even questioning what she was telling him to do. He pushed himself off the door jam and swayed. They both wrapped their arms around his waist to keep him upright.

"Or maybe we wait on the shower and you go back to sleep." He just nodded and they helped him over to the bed. He sat down, dropping his head into his hands.

"Can I get some different clothes?" He asked quietly. Jiya's eyes went wide and she stared at Lucy. Lucy pressed her lips together and stared at the ceiling before nodding. "Yeah, just stay here. I'll be right back." She heard Jiya hot on her heels as she headed up toward her office. She pulled open the closet she used for storage and grabbed a large duffel bag out of the very back. She slung it over her shoulder and carried it downstairs.

"You kept his clothes?" Jiya whisper shouted at her.

"Don't judge me" she replied. She walked back into the room and dropped it on the bag next to him. "Denise got all our stuff cleaned while we were gone."

"Where were we again? Why can't I remember…" he was staring off at the wall, not really focusing on anything.

She ran her hand through his hair, resting her palm on his cheek. She wanted to cry when he leaned into her touch. "It's ok. You had some trauma, but you should be ok in a couple of days. You just need to get some sleep and let your body catch up, ok?" He just nodded at her, covering her hand with his own. She wanted nothing more than to throw Jiya out, lock the door and to crawl into bed with him. But Jiya was right. There was too much to take care of first.

"You change and go back to sleep. Later we will eat and talk." She reluctantly let go of him and they exited the room. She looked back, giving him one last smile before she shut the door.

She followed Jiya into the living room. She was looking around. "You know, eventually he is going to have to come out of the bedroom. This place is lived in, Lucy. You can't possibly hide…"

"I know" Lucy said, dropping into the chair. "I know there is a lot. I know he's going to be mad and confused and I know I need to call Wyatt. But… Jiya, this was the right thing to do. He didn't have to do what he did. We could have figured out another way. He deserved to be saved. Just like Rufus did."

Jiya sat across from her friend. "I know. I know, Lucy. It's just… ok. What's done is done. I'm going to go home and fill Rufus in. See if I can get a sitter and we will be back with dinner tonight. Maybe the punch won't feel quite as bad if we are all here with you when you explain… everything, I guess."

Lucy smiled at her friend. "Thank you. I really don't deserve you all."

"I know. OK. I'm going to go." She grabbed Lucy's phone off the table and tossed it to her. "You need to call Wyatt." Jiya waved goodbye and left.

Lucy stared at his number. "Please Lord, let him try to understand" she said quietly as she hit his number and the phone started to ring.


End file.
